Huawei Nova Plus Review: Fine design but mid-range performance

Quick VerdictThe Huawei Nova Plus is a perfectly solid mid-range Android phone with a slight tilt towards style that you don’t always see at this price point.

Strengths

An elegant mid-range phone

Superb battery life

USB C charging

Mostly decent camera performance

Could be better

Mediocre app performance

No app tray

Rear fingerprint sensor

Only Android 6.0

Huawei’s Nova Plus stands out with its sleek design and solid battery life, but its overall application performance and Android experience leave us wanting.

Huawei isn’t afraid to play in multiple phone niches, whether it’s the super-cheap and simple phones you can pick up at your local supermarket for under $100, or high-end devices such as the Huawei P9 or the upcoming Huawei Mate 9. Despite its Plus suffix, the Huawei Nova Plus isn’t a Mate competitor, but instead a mid-range priced Android device. There’s a very particular squeeze on those precise mid-range phones, because while they’re pinching at the premium space, at the same time they have limitations that mean that they too have to push harder against the very same wave of true budget handsets.

Huawei Nova Plus: Specifications

Huawei

Nova Plus

OS

Android 6.0

Screen size

5.5in

Resolution

1080x1920

Display density

401ppi

Storage

32GB

Weight

160g

Processor

Snapdragon 625

Rear camera

16MP

Front camera

8MP

Battery

3340mAh

Upsides: Why you’d want the Huawei Nova Plus

An elegant mid-range phone: The Nova Plus comes with what Huawei calls "2.5D" glass, which is a fancy marketing way of saying that the glass tapers at the sides, making for a smoother look and simpler grip in the hand. It’s a nice style touch for what is a mid-range phone, although there are a lot of metal body phones at this price point.

Superb battery life: The Huawei Nova Plus packs in a 3340mAh battery, which is far from the largest we’ve seen in a phone, but the combination of the lower-power Snapdragon 625 and battery leads the Nova Plus to some truly superb battery life. Here’s how it compares against a range of phones using Geekbench 3's battery test:

Handset

Geekbench 3 Battery Test Duration

Geekbench 3 Battery Score

LG X Power

14:50:30

5714

Huawei Nova Plus

13:21:20

8013

Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge

11:55:00

7150

Huawei Mate 8

11:14:40

6659

Apple iPhone 7 Plus

11:11:20

6713

Samsung Galaxy Note7

11:02:20

6623

Sony Xperia X

10:40:40

6406

Samsung Galaxy J2

10:05:20

2689

Samsung Galaxy S7

10:01:20

6013

The Nova Plus is pipped to the top of the chart by the exceptional battery life of the LG X Power, but it generated a better Geekbench 3 battery score, indicating that its performance while draining the battery should be better than the X Power.

USB C charging: This is becoming more common in the premium Android space, but still a rarity in mid-range or budget phones. The advantage here aside from fast charging and data transfer rates is that making the switch on a cheaper phone means that you’d be already geared up for USB C charging when your next phone comes around, by which time we’d expect it to be much more common.

Mostly decent camera performance: Huawei’s key weak spot used to be camera optics, where it was decidedly a mid-range contender at best. The Nova Plus’ camera doesn’t quite reach the heights of the Leica lenses found on the P9, but as a mid-range contender it’s certainly adequate enough. Huawei’s debt to Apple’s Camera app is apparent with just a few simple camera modes activated with a sideways swipe, keeping things simple. That being said, it’s yet another camera app with a dodgy "Beauty" mode that smooths skin to the point of absurdity. Testing on myself with everything maximised for beauty led to the creation of a selfie that was more alien potato than stunning fashion model.

Downsides: Why you might not want the Huawei Nova Plus

Mediocre app performance: The downside for that great battery life is that the Snapdragon 625 isn’t a powerhouse processor, and it shows. Within the mid-range, the Nova Plus’ real problem here is not that it’s extremely slow, but that it doesn’t stand out against the rest of the pack. Here’s how the Nova Plus compared on Geekbench 4’s CPU test:

Handset

Geekbench 4 CPU Single Core (higher is better)

Geekbench 4 CPU Multi Core (higher is better)

Google Pixel XL

1629

4051

Motorola Moto Z

1477

3853

Sony Xperia XZ

1636

3604

Google Nexus 6P

1293

3594

Motorola Moto X Force

1352

3581

Huawei Nova Plus

843

2985

Motorola Moto Z Play

799

2648

Sony Xperia X

1122

2626

LG X Power

554

1482

Motorola Moto G Play

522

1334

It’s the same kind of story for 3D games performance, where the Nova Plus doesn’t really stand out from the pack:

Handset

3DMark Ice Storm Unlimited Result

Google Pixel XL

28458

Motorola Moto Z

25629

Sony Xperia XZ

26279

Google Nexus 6P

24703

Motorola Moto Z Play

13958

Sony Xperia X

16648

Huawei Nova Plus

13969

LG X Power

4953

No app tray: Anyone familiar with Huawei’s EMUI Android skin would have seen this coming. The Nova Plus already looks a little like an iPhone, so why not go the whole hog and set it up with an endless array of app icons instead. It’s Android, so you can at least replace the launcher, but the default feels clunky and cheap.

Rear fingerprint sensor: Huawei’s been down this design road for some time with regards to where it places its fingerprint sensor. On the upside it works well and the indent on the back means it’s easy enough to access, but its placement means you’re only ever likely to enrol your index finger to use it. It is a preference call, but generally we find front mounted fingerprint sensors easier to use.

Only Android 6.0: The reality for the majority of Android handsets is that they don’t jump up Android versions during their effective lifetime unless you’re happy to do some brute force upgrade work yourself. Android 7.0 has been available for some months, but the Nova Plus ships with only Android 6.0, and its mid-range status and custom UI suggest that this perhaps as far as it will ever go.

Who is it best suited for? What are my other alternatives?

The Huawei Nova Plus is a perfectly solid mid-range Android phone with a slight tilt towards style that you don’t always see at this price point. The battery life is a definite high point, so if you’re tired of your current handset running out of power halfway through the day this could be an excellent replacement phone.

Huawei Nova Plus from Amazon US site

The Huawei Nova Plus is available in Australia through Amazon. Order today.

You’re spoiled for choice when it comes to phones at this kind of price point, however. The Nova Plus is only sold outright in Australia, which means that it’s not only competing with current mid-range devices ranging from Telstra’s Signature Premium to Motorola’s Z Play, but also discounted premium fare that’s either being sold off cheaply, including Huawei’s own P9, LG’s G5 or the HTC 10.

Where can I get it?

The Huawei Nova Plus is available in Australia through Harvey Norman and Officeworks, where it sells for an outright price of $549.

Disclaimer - Hive Empire Pty Ltd (trading as finder.com.au, ABN: 18 118 785 121) provides factual information, general advice and services on financial products as a Corporate Authorised Representative (432664) of Advice Evolution Pty Ltd AFSL 342880. Please refer to our FSG - Financial Products. We also provide general advice on credit products under our own Credit Licence ACL 385509. Please refer to our Credit Guide for more information. We can also provide you with general advice and factual information on about a range of other products, services and providers. We are also a Corporate Authorised Representative of Countrywide Tolstrup Financial Services Group Pty Ltd. ABN 51 586 953 292 AFSL 244436 for the provision of general insurance products. Please refer to our FSG - General Insurance. We hope that the information and general advice we can provide will help you make a more informed decision. We are not owned by any Bank or Insurer and we are not a product issuer or a credit provider. Although we cover a wide range of products, providers and services we don't cover every product, provider or service available in the market so there may be other options available to you. We also don't recommend specific products, services or providers. If you decide to apply for a product or service through our website you will be dealing directly with the provider of that product or service and not with us. We endeavour to ensure that the information on this site is current and accurate but you should confirm any information with the product or service provider and read the information they can provide. If you are unsure you should get independent advice before you apply for any product or commit to any plan. (c) 2018.

Thank you for your feedback.

Our goal is to create the best possible product, and your thoughts, ideas and suggestions play a major role in helping us identify opportunities to improve.

Important information about this website

finder.com.au is one of Australia's leading comparison websites. We compare from a wide set of major banks, insurers and product issuers.

finder.com.au has access to track details from the product issuers listed on our sites. Although we provide information on the products offered by a wide range of issuers, we don't cover every available product. You should consider whether the products featured on our site are appropriate for your needs and seek independent advice if you have any questions.

Products marked as 'Promoted' or "Advertisement" are prominently displayed either as a result of a commercial advertising arrangement or to highlight a particular product, provider or feature. Finder may receive remuneration from the Provider if you click on the related link, purchase or enquire about the product. Finder's decision to show a 'promoted' product is neither a recommendation that the product is appropriate for you nor an indication that the product is the best in its category. We encourage you to use the tools and information we provide to compare your options and find the best option for you.

The identification of a group of products, as 'Top' or 'Best' is a reflection of user preferences based on current website data. On a regular basis, analytics drive the creation of a list of popular products. Where these products are grouped, they appear in no particular order.

Where our site links to particular products or displays 'Go to site' buttons, we may receive a commission, referral fee or payment.

We try to take an open and transparent approach and provide a broad based comparison service. However, you should be aware that while we are an independently owned service, our comparison service does not include all providers or all products available in the market.

Some product issuers may provide products or offer services through multiple brands, associated companies or different labelling arrangements. This can make it difficult for consumers to compare alternatives or identify the companies behind the products. However, we aim to provide information to enable consumers to understand these issues.

Providing or obtaining an estimated insurance quote through us does not guarantee you can get the insurance. Acceptance by insurance companies is based on things like occupation, health and lifestyle. By providing you with the ability to apply for a credit card or loan we are not guaranteeing that your application will be approved. Your application for credit products is subject to the Provider's terms and conditions as well as their application and lending criteria.

Please read our website terms of use for more information about our services and our approach to privacy.